# Lifting the Cuban travel ban



## orca99usa (May 23, 2008)

This isn't directly related to tobacco, but it could have a profound effect on those of us who smoke cigars. Congress is apparently getting close to voting on completely removing travel restrictions for Americans going to Cuba. I can't imagine that removing the trade embargo can be far behind, if this happens.


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## roughrider (Feb 25, 2008)

I look forward to the day. Cuba looks like a great place to visit.


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## Tarks (Mar 3, 2009)

It is. I'm heading back to Havana on Jan 2. Can't wait.


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## ssutton219 (Apr 17, 2007)

Tarks said:


> It is. I'm heading back to Havana on Jan 2. Can't wait.


:fu

Now thats all I got to say....kidding bud ENJOY cuz you know I will if I ever get a chance!!

Shawn


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## Tarks (Mar 3, 2009)

ssutton219 said:


> :fu
> 
> Now thats all I got to say....kidding bud ENJOY cuz you know I will if I ever get a chance!!
> 
> Shawn


Muahahaha! That's all I have to say! :whoo:


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## Nitrosportman (Oct 26, 2009)

well lets all keep our fingers crossed so that i too can one day try one of their fine cigars


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## SkinsFanLarry (Aug 21, 2009)

*Overturning Cuba Travel Ban May Pass House This Year*

By Fabiola Moura

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) - Legislation to end a ban on Americans traveling to Cuba has enough support in the U.S. House of Representatives to win approval by year-end, said Representative Sam Farr, a California Democrat.

The bill to let U.S. citizens resume travel to the Caribbean island except in times of war or cases in which they face imminent danger has 181 votes in the House and needs 218 to pass, said Farr, a co-sponsor of the legislation. The plan is backed by travel groups such as the United States Tour Operators Association and the National Tour Association and human rights groups such as the Washington Office on Latin America and has been helped by President Barack Obama's election, he said.

"It is believed we can get to this before the end of the year," Farr, 68, said in an interview in New York. "We haven't had a policy about Cuba. We've had policies about getting votes in Florida and Obama changed that by getting those votes."

The U.S. ended restrictions on Sept. 3 on Cuban-Americans travel and money transfers to relatives in Cuba. The new rules also allow U.S. telecommunications companies to provide service in Cuba for mobile telephone, satellite radio and television. Exceptions to the 1962 trade embargo on communist Cuba include $500 million per year in agricultural exports, Farr said.

"If you are a potato, you can get to Cuba very easily," he said. "But if you are a person, you can't, and that is our problem."

*The rest of the article*


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## Tarks (Mar 3, 2009)

SkinsFanLarry said:


> *Overturning Cuba Travel Ban May Pass House This Year*
> 
> By Fabiola Moura
> 
> ...


Very interesting read. I don't believe everything I read and I doubt that this will happen by the end of the year as predicted. If and when this happens it will be interesting to see how welcome Americans are in Cuba.


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## phatmax (Mar 18, 2009)

While I would greatly enjoy travel to Cuba, I just get a little queasy about American tourist money supporting such a terrible Communist regime. The way the government treats the citizens is awful and the chances that tourist money is going to go to the citizens is nearly zero.

Decades of the rest of the world being able to travel to Cuba has not really improved their lot, but has certainly footed the bill for keeping Castro and his buddies in power.

I really wish they could wait until a slightly more humanitarian government takes power.

If North Korea was a sweet vacation spot and made awesome smokes, would you still travel there knowing how they treat their citizens, if the money just goes straight to the leadership?

I just am concerned that the implications if we will ignore how you treat your citizens and do business with you anyhow.

We already let China literally get away with murder and trade like crazy with them. I worry that once we open up Cuba, how can we say we stand for human rights, when we turn a blind eye to what they do?


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## orca99usa (May 23, 2008)

> While I would greatly enjoy travel to Cuba, I just get a little queasy about American tourist money supporting such a terrible Communist regime. The way the government treats the citizens is awful and the chances that tourist money is going to go to the citizens is nearly zero.


We have a multi-billion-dollar trade surplus with China, which has a human rights history that makes Cuba's pale in comparison. Americans are free to travel to China any time they want, and any trip to Wal Mart or Target yields a basket full of their exports.



> We already let China literally get away with murder and trade like crazy with them. I worry that once we open up Cuba, how can we say we stand for human rights, when we turn a blind eye to what they do?


If we stopped trading with or traveling to every country that doesn't share our values, we might as well seal our borders.

The rest of the world trades with, and travels to, Cuba. The embargo made sense while Russian missiles sat on the island. They have been gone for decades. The policy, reportedly aimed at forcing political change in Cuba, has been an abject failure. The only thing that will force Castro out is death. The embargo has fueled much of his determination to stay in power, IMO, and it has allowed him to blame US foreign policy for many of the failings of his own government. In effect we have kept him in office. Do we want to keep doing that?


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## phatmax (Mar 18, 2009)

I have never been happy with trade with China. That was a huge mistake. As can be shown as our economy collapses, because we basically manufacture nothing and simply have a service based economy that is imploding as the dollar becomes evermore worthless.

Just because a bunch of politicians made one huge mistake in that regard does not mean that we as citizens throw our morals to the winds and keep making mistakes. People are still jailed and still shot for being "enemies of the state" in Cuba, simply for questioning their leaders.

Do you want YOUR dollars buying bullets to shoot people for questioning government?

At some point, we have to stand by our morals, if we have any left, and show the despots in the world that we are not going to accept their actions, even if it means sticking by a old embargo that SEEMS silly, in light of our "on our knees, mouth open" position with China.

We financed our own destruction by trading with China. Our money has gone to build those factories that truely pollute the earth. Our money has surely gone to build prisons for Chinese that want freedom.

Should we help finance another regime that does the same thing?


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## JGD (Mar 2, 2009)

Tarks said:


> Very interesting read. I don't believe everything I read and I doubt that this will happen by the end of the year as predicted. If and when this happens it will be interesting to see how welcome Americans are in Cuba.


Though it's only a small sample, I have family members (Americans) who have traveled to Cuba and they said they the people there were the most welcoming and kind people that they have encountered in their travels. To put that in perspective, each couple has been to about half of the countries in the world to date.


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## Depa (Oct 16, 2009)

Having a general aversion to communism, this puts me in an awkward position...

I'm stuck between my sense of moral outrage and my love of fine cigars.


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## Gavazzier (Jul 3, 2009)

I can see it happening in the next 5-10 years


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## ericdriscoll (Jan 4, 2009)

> I can see it happening in the next 5-10 years


most likely.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

When big business gets involved ( Big Hotel chains with casinos) then you can bet the ranch that the embargo will be taken care of in short order. It's businesses that move everything both politically and socially and local government knows that by bringing in big business it makes the country that more viable. Cuba is already taking land and acquiring more as we speak and that is a foreshadow of things to come. It's not about cigars or anything else except money and the US will start building there just as soon as big business tells the current administration what they want. Big business buys influence and this is how the game is played no matter what President is in the big house. It will just be called by another name as to why the embargo is lifted,,,and remember as was said before. Tourism in Cuba will go up dramatically and that is tons more money for Cuba that they have been missing and when you factor casinos, tourism, cigars and the heyday of the 60's Cuba will once again be the "Hot Spot" it used to be.


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## roughrider (Feb 25, 2008)

Cigary said:


> Tourism in Cuba will go up dramatically and that is tons more money for Cuba that they have been missing and when you factor casinos, tourism, cigars and the heyday of the 60's Cuba will once again be the "Hot Spot" it used to be.


You forgot the butt naked women.


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## JGD (Mar 2, 2009)

Cigary said:


> When big business gets involved ( Big Hotel chains with casinos) then you can bet the ranch that the embargo will be taken care of in short order. It's businesses that move everything both politically and socially and local government knows that by bringing in big business it makes the country that more viable. Cuba is already taking land and acquiring more as we speak and that is a foreshadow of things to come. It's not about cigars or anything else except money and the US will start building there just as soon as big business tells the current administration what they want. Big business buys influence and this is how the game is played no matter what President is in the big house. It will just be called by another name as to why the embargo is lifted,,,and remember as was said before. Tourism in Cuba will go up dramatically and that is tons more money for Cuba that they have been missing and when you factor casinos, tourism, cigars and the heyday of the 60's Cuba will once again be the "Hot Spot" it used to be.


True, although the current regime, or at least Fidel, will likely have to be gone for any casinos to open up on the island again.


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## Smoke Rises (Dec 6, 2009)

Nitrosportman said:


> well lets all keep our fingers crossed so that i too can one day try one of their fine cigars


mexico is closer than cuba and you can buy cuban cigars there.take a weekend drive and smoke. never had a cuban cigar but for some reason i doubt i'm missing a whole lot. if you never had something then you surely don't know what you're missing. for me i am willing to keep it that way.

someone mentioned closing the borders - that doesn't sound like a bad idea. just for a while till we can work a few things out.


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